Since my Travel Confetti print turned out so well I thought I’d do another one, this time using the best moments of 2013. I went ahead and got it printed using the plotter printer (A1 black and white) and also on glossy A3 photo card. Both of these prints only cost me $3 each at my local printers.
Side by side with the A4 Travel Photo Confetti poster I did a while back. You can find the post here.
And here is the A1 plotter/blueprint print.
Doing it Yourself: This kind of thing is much easier to do in a photo editor program like Photoshop or Gimp. But it can also be done in a program like PowerPoint. Click on the buttons below for the template files (the plotter image is there, it is pure white so you can’t see anything. Just right click and save). The images are in the png format – so there are holes where the circles are. If you put your photographs behind the template image, they will show through.
The plotter print can be done in an A1 size, while the color print is best in A3. Hope this all helps, message me if you make them – love to see.
Are you lucky enough to be able to work from home? I am, and it’s pretty great. When it comes to being productive while working at home there are a few key things to keep in mind. One of those is a great workspace. It allows you to be organized, have your own space to work on projects, and keeps you inspired. And lighting plays a big role in how your home workspace feels.
When it comes to home office lighting ideas, there are two types that you need to keep in mind: functional lighting and relaxing lighting. Functional lighting is more task based, and helps you stay on the ball and productive. While relaxing lighting helps and nurtures creative thinking.
Functional and Productive Home Office Lighting
If you are about to remodel your home office, then pay close attention to the ceiling lights. These will help fill the room with ambient lighting, making it a comfortable space to be in. The go to choice for ceiling lights would be recessed (the ones that are fitted inside of the ceiling, creating a modern look). If you choose this type of light fixture, make sure you have enough and space them out so they light up the whole room.
An alternative to recessed lights would be track lighting. The good thing about these, is that you can angle the lights to different areas of the room. Then you also have the choice of pendant lights, which are ideal for hanging over working areas as they bring the light closer down from the ceiling as seen in pictures (1) and (2).
Natural Lighting
The best kind of lighting to have while working in the day is daylight (3). It is natural, and energizing. So look to open up your windows as much as possible. If the windows face direct sunlight, fit blinds and shades so you can adjust how much light comes through. It is always better to use natural lighting over indoor lights.
Desk Lamps
Your desk lamp is quite vital in creating a functional workspace. It can reduce eyestrain when looking at your computer screen, and make offline desk tasks a lot easier to do too. Look for an adjustable one – like a swing arm (4) or angelpoise lamp (seen below). These adjustable lamps let you move the light around the desk, if you have a large one.
Save space on your desk by having a lamp that clamps to the side of the desk. Alternative desk space saving ideas include using a floor lamp or have a magnetic lamp that can be stuck onto something metallic, like a shelf, nearby. If you have a wall nearby, then an adjustable wall lamp will work too like in picture (5).
Creative Thinking Lighting
When it comes time to do some brainstorming and more creative thinking in your home office, you’ll want to create a different work setting. You can easily do this with your lights. By switching from cold and functional work and task based lights, to more relaxing dim down lighting (just like in a chilled out café) you’ll create a work space ideal for creative thinking.
If you want to make a space feel more relaxing, then you want to bring the lights down. Avoid lighting the ceiling and instead use floor and desk lamps. Try and layer the lighting in the room and add some soft glowing lights too.
Soft Glowing Lighting Ideas for a Home Office
Put a light behind your computer screen and let the light softly bounce off of the wall.
If you really want to go for it, how about having a transparent desk and have it softly lit up (6)
Mood lights are great to have. You can change the entire feel of the room just by changing the color of the lamp. If it is a grey and dull day, then set the mood light to a bright green or yellow. If you want to get in a more creative mood, how about coloring the room orange, or dark red?
Put up some display lighting. Light up some art work, or fit some book case lights to create more soft glows of light in the room.
Have your ceiling lights hooked up to a dimmer, so you can be in full control of your ceiling lights.
If you want to create a whimsical feel in your home office, then check out the string lights in picture (7)
Lighting is just one of the things to keep in mind when setting up your home office to be a productive workspace. Other things to keep in mind are organization, decor, creative stimuli, and inspiration. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7
Create the Best Home Workspace for Yourself
Sign up here if you want to know more about creating a creative space at home – as I’ll be putting out a pocket sized guide that covers everything from how to come up with ideas, creative exercises, to case studies (Pixar, Ideo) and how to create a creative workspace at home.
Large or small, colorful or rustic, what kind of sewing room do you want?
Design Styles: Pictures (1-4) show different sewing room styles. You’ve got the more rustic rooms that uses old wooden storage containers, and then there are more colorful rooms with the fabric all on display and painted shelves. You even have a very minimalist room with black and white furniture pieces and a well organized mood board.
Small Sewing Room Ideas: If you have a small space to work with, or don’t have a lot of space in the house for a sewing room, some options include turning a closet into a workspace (5). The great thing about doing this is that you can close the doors and hide everything away when it is not in use. And the inside of the doors make for great storage space. Have a look at our closet offices post for ideas on turning a closet into a functional workspace. For those with even more limited space, a good sized suitcase can be organized to store all of your sewing equipment (6).
Another idea is to divide up an existing room like a family room, bedroom or kitchen to make space for a sewing area. A room divider like an IKEA book shelf seen in picture (7) can hide away the sewing area while the rest of the room is being used for something else. Have a look at our DIY room dividers post for more ideas and designs on how to easily divide up a room.
Picture (8) shows an outdoor shed that has been created into a cozy sewing workspace.
Large Workspaces: If you have a large room, and are looking to create an ultimate dream sewing room, a kitchen style island in the middle of the room would be a great feature to have(9). A central workstation makes it easy to grab everything you need, and provides for a large countertop to work on.
When it comes to storage ideas (10) have a look at our post here:
While decor ideas for the sewing room can be found here:
For more craft and sewing room design ideas and pictures follow our Pinterest board here. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10
How you organize your sewing room will depend on the size of it. If you have a small space to work in, you’ll want to make use of sewing room organization ideas that use the walls as much as possible. Like the peg board in picture (7) and the rails and magnetic strips in picture (8). For other ideas on how to create a sewing room in a small space (creating a closet sewing room, or using a suitcase), have a look at our sewing room designs post.
One thing to keep in mind when you are creating storage space and organizing a sewing room is that your materials and supplies can be used as decor pieces. By having your colorful materials and fabrics out in the open you instantly create decorative features – like having your spools of thread hung up on a wall and all color coordinated (even in a frame?). Have a look at our sewing room decor post for more ideas and pictures on how to use your materials and tools as decor pieces.
A mood board is a great thing to have in a sewing room to group together all of your inspirational pictures and have them on display above your work table. Corkboards work fine, but something like this can easily be turned into a decorative piece by having a frame around it.
Having an ironing board in the sewing room is always convenient. This can be left out (not very stylish), put away in a closet, or hung up on a wall. It is nice having it attached to a wall – it makes it easy to just pull down and use. But it’s not really sexy having an ironing board stuck on the wall. Check out Beckie’s tutorial here on how she created a paint shelf that rolls out hiding an ironing board behind it. Another idea would be to hang it up behind a curtain.
Don’t forget the style of your storage pieces will play a big role in how your sewing room will look. The first few pictures above (2-5) use more vintage, old wooden style storage containers, organizers, and cabinets. While other sewing rooms (8-9) use more modern metallic and glass storage containers, railings, etc. – and have all of the colorful fabrics and materials out on display. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10
"The best place for creative home ideas."
Home Tree Atlas is all about ideas. Here you will find a growing collection of interior design and decor mood board guides I have put together. You don't need to be an interior designer to turn your home into a great looking, and relaxing space.
Get Inspired - Jacob
(Pictures of me volunteering in the Philippines, building homes)
